Middle ages fashion
Cindy lammert
Middle Ages fashion was a symbol that represented the wealthy from the poor. Fashion in the Middle Ages occurred around 400-1200B.C. Women, men, children, nobles, Queens, and Kings all had a certain type of fashion that was a symbol of their wealth.

Medieval fashion during The Middle Ages was highly influenced by the Kings and Queens of the era. Only the wealthy could dress in fashionable clothes. King Edward III was the one who passed the rule by the Sumptuary that only royalty was allowed to wear cloth of gold and purple silk. Expensive veils were banned for lower class women. Only the wives or daughters of nobles were allowed to wear velvet, satin, sable or ermine.

The Pyramid of Power dictated the fashion of the Middle Ages, like everything else, which was the Middle Ages Feudal System. Medieval clothes provided information about the status of the person wearing them. Reds and purples usually showed higher classes such as queens, kings, or nobles. The lower classes such as farmers and serfs wore more raggedy clothes and colors such as browns. Also most people in the Middle Ages wore woolen clothing, with undergarments made of linen. Women in the middle ages, wore tight lacing on their clothes to create a form fitting shape which, girdled at the hips which created a long-waisted appearance. Also, brighter colors, more expensive materials, and longer jacket length were usually signs of greater wealth.

The location and geographic features of Medieval fashion had a huge impact on their fashion. Since there were only so many resources in one area, there were only so many different types of materials to make clothes out of. This limited the amount of clothes to be made and the types of clothes made. Then, around 1096-1270B.C, the crusades left the greatest influence on Medieval Fashion. This is because when the Crusades was going on, all of the Crusaders were able to bring in fine silks, satins, damasks, brocades, and velvets from the far east which allowed for more clothing.



external image 1485women.jpg

Brighter colors, more expensive materials, and longer jacket length were usually signs of greater wealth.


Works Cited:
<http://www.learner.org/interactives/middleages/clothing.html>
<http://www.zeitlerweb.com/img/1485women.jpg> <http://www.middle-ages.org.uk/medieval-fashion.htm>